figgy Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 It's amazing how quick you can decorate a room Mr Bean done one in a Flash. Figgy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gemini52 Posted October 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 Do you put this information in your written quote (not the bit about the chancers). I give them a detailed break down of what i will do for the price,that way the is no confusion,most of the time i tend to do extra work at no extra cost just as good measure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Footu Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 I just refuse to decorate point blank. I'd rather be out with the dog and as a result the wife does it or it doesn't get done. I don't care what it looks like but she spends 2 days prepping a wall before its painted and does a fab job. I'd smear it on with a mop, get it over with asap and then get out. Top girl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aris Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 I give them a detailed break down of what i will do for the price,that way the is no confusion,most of the time i tend to do extra work at no extra cost just as good measure. If you have 40 years experience, and have taught and mentored numerous apprentices, shout about it. it is a feather in your cap when competing against others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRNDL Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 Slightly off topic but still on the same lines... Were having a free baxi boiler fitted (good contacts) by a local fitter. Now this should be a free installation and a free boiler. The guy comes around, looks at the job and says "yea I can sort this for you, al do it all for a grand"... I said but the boiler is free, surely it's not a grand to fit it PLUS baxi pay him £400 for fitting too.... Cheeky ******.... I showed him the door for trying it on as I new all the costs involved and what he was being paid for the job... Chancer just lost a £400 job for half a days work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
escortmagnum999 Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 you pay peanuts, you get monkeys....................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davyo Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 And I bet half of these jobs dont go on any tax returns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KFC Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 (edited) I packed up my stained glass/glass engraving business because I had no shortage of work but, because it was so labour intensive, I couldn't make enough profit. The last customer I worked for only wanted to pay £800 for a job that I wanted £1200 for. I sold the job to a mate who did it as a paying hobby working from home. The couple had a big house, two new cars yaddah, yaddah. I was struggling to pay for my premises and I needed a new vehicle which I couldn't afford. So many people who could easily afford the prices I needed to charge always tried to screw me down on price. I just got sick to death of customers wanting Tiffany standard windows at stick-on lead prices. Edited October 18, 2013 by KFC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wickedwickedmotox Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 Priced a job last week, cut down 5 meteres of privet hedge, get roots up and level out (have own digger) asked him how much he had been quoted as he said hed had a few quotes, told me cheapest was 120 to cut down and stump grind it!! I laughed and told him i was higher than that at 250 and not to worry, he called this week i got the job he obviously tried it on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Mongrel- Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 Were having a free baxi boiler fitted (good contacts) by a local fitter. Now this should be a free installation and a free boiler. The guy comes around, looks at the job and says "yea I can sort this for you, al do it all for a grand"... I said but the boiler is free, surely it's not a grand to fit it PLUS baxi pay him £400 for fitting too.... Cheeky ******.... I showed him the door for trying it on as I new all the costs involved and what he was being paid for the job... Chancer just lost a £400 job for half a days work! Bless you. Half a days work? Really? I tell you what, if you have a man who can do this job properly in half a day, could you forward me his number please. By properly I mean the old one removed and taken away, the wall made good as required prior to fitting the new boiler. Pipe and wire the boiler including probably upgrading the gas supply and running a new condense pipe. Making good the new flue. Filling, venting, cleansing, flushing and inhibiting the system and finally fully commissioning the boiler and completing the Benchmark certificate. £400 is about right for a straight forward swap over but can easily cost more, although not generally a grand more admittedly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digger Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 Ive quoted twice for the same woman, once to install two bathrooms and once to install acoustic flooring. She has a builder in and I havd said Im not happy stealing work. Always "can you come round urgently after 7.00 pm. So after a 12 hour day I go round, waste an hour, then get home and spend two hours pricing. She then clearly uses me as "compare the buider.com" and tells her builder my price so he has a benchmark.She called again today, told her a quote is £175 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davyo Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 (edited) I always use rate a trader on the net, you get to read reviews on work they have prev done an I feel I have always got a good price and have always been happy with the work. Edited October 18, 2013 by Davyo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bostonmick Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 i have a couple of mini diggers luckily both paid for i give the price for a day if they say i can get it cheaper then my machine stays in the barn.i do a proper job and give assurance of work.cowboys give grief and heartache. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psyxologos Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 Give your best time first time round, and that is that. Too many tradesmen try it on now, it is the customers who wised up to that and now demand a fair price... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 Give your best time first time round, and that is that. Too many tradesmen try it on now, it is the customers who wised up to that and now demand a fair price... Define fair?my experience is the customer has an unrealistic expectation of how little a tradesman needs to make a living. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del T Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 Define fair?my experience is the customer has an unrealistic expectation of how little a tradesman needs to make a living. Most just think the cash goes straight in our pockets. They forget what it costs to actually run a business! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungler Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 We had a commercial lease enquiry last week - for us that's between £750 to £2k plus VAT job depending on the complexity and aggravation. Client said someone had quoted £250. We let them on their way with a smile - the standard line is "there will always be someone who will do it cheaper, but no hard feelings we're always here". We have had quite a few come back either mid transaction and ask us to save them or post transaction full of woe "we should have never..." It's greed and a desire to save money that blinds people, because anyone sensible will know that when 2 quote are so far apart, someone has not measured like with like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deker Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 the promise that it would be done in a week,if not they would give him 160 pounds a day back off the price, This is pretty common in my line of work, if we're late delivering projects then the customer could have a massive headache re-arranging other 3rd parties (at their own cost) who had been lined up to do their work once we've finished ours so there's pretty much always some kind of financial compensation built in to the contract. I would have thought it was also common in any home improvement/construction contract Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Galore! Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 I gave up trying to price decorating work, might as well throw the rates book out the window as there's too many halfwits willing to work for peanuts. Almost everyone thinks they can paint, the truth is far from that, i had a fair spell with a local company earlier in the year and for every real decorator that firm had there were another half dozen slackers or chancers slopping paint everywhere and removing lightbulbs behind them to hide the poor work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gemini52 Posted October 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 (edited) I gave up trying to price decorating work, might as well throw the rates book out the window as there's too many halfwits willing to work for peanuts. Almost everyone thinks they can paint, the truth is far from that, i had a fair spell with a local company earlier in the year and for every real decorator that firm had there were another half dozen slackers or chancers slopping paint everywhere and removing lightbulbs behind them to hide the poor work. Removing light bulbs.thats a new one on me,but yes i know were you are coming from there are far to many chancers about,i have a gold cscs card which as you probably know you need to work on site,i found out the other year the poles get theres for free with out having to provide any qualifications,makes the point of serving your time a joke. Edited October 19, 2013 by gemini52 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 ,i found out the other year the poles get theres for free with out having to provide ant qualifications,makes the point of serving your time a joke The jokes on us again.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Mongrel- Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 ,i found out the other year the poles get theres for free with out having to provide ant qualifications,makes the point of serving your time a joke The jokes on us again.. I'd like to see you back that one up with a course or something similar please. We have Eastern Europeans on the firm but the plumbers have equivalent quals, and the gas engineers have to be British certificated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 its the same as those divs who set up internet business through the medium of ebay. so many just sell the same stuff thats in argos. they dont even bother to hide the fact that they probly dont have the item and would pop down to argos to then buy the product and then send it. some try the 3-5 day ship in hope they get enough for the £5 off vouchers and that. they have no overheads, no storage, and they make no money. i wouldnt even bother setting myself up as this. where i live they have tons of minature undustries.you know ways of making cash tax free. it makes me chuckle every time i think about it. - some one tried to convince me to.... Download porn, cut it to disc and then sell it on. its a business that cant fail.... but then i started to put holes in there whole scheme. why should i quit my scientific job and download porn? - that was my main objection. i was told to use the wetherspoons free wifi. i need to quit my job rent a PC and download at the pub. both cost money. he claimed it never fails and you make lots of money... so i loose my salary, and havent even made any money. i have to rent a pc and buy discs..... which costs money say i manage to do it and start selling some... i am never in a billion years going to sell enough porn to match or exceed my salary. and really who`s going to buy £30k of porn a year? peoples idea of business is absolutely funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fabarm gamma boy Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 Fair play to whoever can do it cheaper maybe they get better prices on materials, just buisness Fair play to whoever can do it cheaper maybe they get better prices on materials, just buisness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasper3 Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 I had a customer the other day buy a bedroom carpet and booked the fitting £30 she phoned a couple of days later to say she had found a fitter to do it for £15 and could we match the price I just let them get their cheap cowboys when you weigh up the costs even £30 is cheap, i was asked once if i would fit a carpet for £20 the job was 10 miles away in Exeter, i did say no way...then they called me a rip off merchant i asked them if they had seen the price of fuel, insurance, liability insurance ..the best bit was it was a hall stairs and landing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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